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Three figures perched on a tree. The leaves and the branches hid their faces but their clothes didn't blend in. They were dressed in ways that one wouldn't see any tree-climber worth their salt would wear - in long red robes with various stripes and coloured marks. Bright golden rays of the afternoon sun filtered through the leaves and shone on them.
But what stood out the most was not their attires, but how effortlessly balanced they were on the tree. They stood on its branches like any normal person would on the ground. Their stance betrayed no fear of heights, nor uncertainty of their balance. One could say that they looked even relaxed. They spoke in careful whispers to each other, almost like they were afraid of being overheard. But no one was nearby to hear them. There was no one in sight, but the three individuals still maintained their careful tone.
A voice spoke. It was a man. " When will they come? It has been 3 hours of waiting. Are we sure they will pass through here? " He had a gruff voice, like his vocal cords were rubbing rocks instead of muscle. The two other individuals recoiled slightly, as soon as they heard him speak. It was a recoil of disgust, they didn't seem to like his voice that much.
Another voice replied, also a man. " Patience, brother. Patience. This is what we have been instructed to do. They will pass through here. Their house is on the road ahead, so they will definitely pass through here." His voice was very different from the first man. It flowed like a gentle river, steady and doubtless.
As the second man finished, the first man made a grunt and complained." But we have been here for hours! I say that instead of waiting, we move in search of them. At least, it won't be so boring like this then." The second man immediately pressed down.
" Don't even! This is a task that has been given to us by Elder Khrom. This is why we have accompanied him from High-Earth to this wretched lower-realm. Do you not remember what he said? Do not tempt the designs of Great law here! To follow his instructions to the best! Did you forget? "
The second man barraged down on the first man. He said everything in the same careful whisper that they had been using but the whispering only amplified the strength of the man's forceful words. The first man's posture crumbled, and his impatient attitude disappeared with it too. Something in those words broke through him. He adopted silence, as he looked away from the second man's piercing gaze.
Silence filled the surroundings, like a suffocating smoke, until a voice broke through. This time, a woman had spoken. Her voice was deeper than the average girl, but she didn't seem to bother about it. She asked the second man. "The targets we are capturing, I heard, are from the cursed clan. Is that true? "
"Yes," The second man replied. He had reverted to his calm voice as he explained. "They are from that clan. After escaping our search for so long, we have finally learnt that they had fled to this lower realm. Now, we have been instructed to bring them in. Elder Khrom personally went to deal with their son, that boy!"
" It must be a serious matter. Elder Khrom personally moved. These targets of ours, will it be simple to capture them?" The female asked. "We don't know for sure but the Elders have said that the couple have most likely lost their ability to turn. I heard that that was the price they had to offer to live in this lower realm." The second man answered. "If that is the case, then it is indeed going to be simple. I just hope they don't make me wait too long!" She smacked her lips in anticipation.
But the second man warned. "We have reasons to believe that is most likely the case but remember to never let your guard down. Who knows what they might have up their sleeves. In any case, we do have the permission to kill if the need arrives." The woman nodded as she heard the warning. She thought for a moment and said. "I don't know why anyone would give up their turning to come to this realm! It's beyond me! " "Well," The second man added, "Maybe it's not a small price to pay to live."
The smile on her face, that she wore, immediately straightened itself out into a serious expression. The second man saw this, gave an approving nod, and took a deep breath. "Hush." The first man said. He had regained his posture but his voice was still weak. He carefully added. "I think they are here!"
Two figures slowly appeared at a distance. A man and a woman, walking side by side. The man was about a foot taller than the woman and carried a cloth bag filled with something. The man had a strong gait and each of his steps synced with his partner- in a comforting harmony - as they slowly approached the three mysterious individuals hidden amongst the trees. The woman said something to the man in the ears and they broke out into a beautiful chorus of laughter as they continued to walk.
"Don't move! Let them come here. The Trapping Array I have set up is here." The other two gave a nod of approval as they waited for a short moment for their targets to reach the radius of the Array.
"Now!" The second man shouted. The first man and the woman immediately lunged from the tree directly towards the couple. A cloud of smoke and dust flew up as they landed. A gasp of surprise escaped the couple as their eyes darkened.
The second man made a series of hand signs and shouted 'Manifest!'
Bright lines of energy lit up in a circle surrounding everyone as a white shield of light enveloped them. As soon as the array was finished, nothing inside it could be seen from the outside. There would be no interference, such was the power of a Trapping Array!
Having finished setting up the array, The second man jumped down from the tree and gently landed on the ground. He looked down at the faces of the two targets that he had to capture. A sick smile curved over his face as he sent a silent sound transmission to the two of his teammates and gave them his final warning.
"Be careful to not use too much Power. We don't want to disturb the Great Law."
Then the second man, the leader of his group, commanded "Attack!"
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(Karma Wangmo POV)
"Thank you Karma Wangmo. For everything! " Kunkhen said as he dusted off his clothes. Karma Wangmo stared at Kunkhen as he stood up. Kunkhen had an incredibly bright expression on him. But that is understandable, after all they had just escaped the Dark World. Karma Wangmo wondered about a lot of things. But she just said "You don't have to thank me. It's alright." She really meant it.
She didn't do much. If anything, she felt quite bad that she wasn't able to do more. But in the condition she was in, weakened and inanimate, she had no choice but to rely on Kunkhen. So ultimately, Kunkhen had brought himself out of that dark prison. But she knew Kunkhen was too kind to walk without thanking her. "I insist," Kunkhen pressed. "I am very grateful to you for everything. If you had not been there, maybe, no most definitely, I wouldn't be alive and out now."
Kunkhen's eyes were sincere. Karma Wangmo could see that. In fact, even if she was spiritually trapped in a turquoise, she could see everything; that was the power of her Spiritual Vision. She was like a floating spirit, and she could decide where she wanted to look from. But it wasn't always like that. For a long time, she had been recovering in hibernation. Her injuries had been too great and her spirit had been harmed too much, so she had no choice but to isolate herself in the Yhu and slowly recover.
Karma Wangmo paused her thoughts when she saw Kunkhen's patient eyes. So she said "Kunkhen. The Great Law has brought us together. And we are connected by our Karma. You are in need of me and I am in need of you. That is why there is no need for gratitude and apologies between us."
The workings of the Great Law was still beyond Karma Wangmo. But she knew that everything had a certain Reason for happening. Any action committed will have its effects and that effect becomes the causes for other effects. This unceasing chain of causality, of one person and another and another, connected to form the great Web of existence. She knew that. That's why she said so to Kunkhen.
Kunkhen had a visible change in his expression as he heard what Karma Wangmo said. He must have understood what Karma Wangmo wanted to say, she hoped so. "I understand." Kunkhen carefully said. And after saying that, he stared down the hill for a few seconds and said. "Let's go home."
Karma Wangmo agreed. It had been a long adventure for both of them and she knew that Kunkhen wanted to see his parents. She knew that Kunkhen had a lot of questions to ask, some she knew the answers to. But Karma Wangmo knew that it would be for the best if he learnt them from his parents. Thinking that, Karma Wangmo flew to Kunkhen who had started his way down the hill.
Following in Kunkhen's footsteps, Karma Wangmo remembered something that happened a few days ago.
It was Kunkhen's mother; Without any explanation, she had requested Karma Wangmo to protect her son.'Why?' Karma Wangmo had said to her. She had been taken aback by the sudden request. Kunkhen's mother was a woman in her late thirties, but no wrinkles of time had yet scarred her face.
Kunkhen's mother had no answer. Instead she apologised to Karma Wangmo. Her face twisted in sadness. 'Karma Wangmo…I am sorry. I am really sorry…I couldn't find any ways to heal you. I gave you a promise, but I was not able to fulfil it. I am really sorry… And here I am requesting you, again! How shameful I am!…'
Karma Wangmo had been surprised. She did not know what to say to that. So she had told her it was okay. It was really okay. Karma Wangmo knew how hard it would be to find any spiritual treasures or places with reservoirs of rlung energy in this lower realm. After all, this world was not High-Earth.
Karma Wangmo had known the troubles she would face when she sought refuge in this lower world but she had a promise to keep. She was going to recover, be it in 1 year, 10 years or 100, however long it took. And then she would march back to High-Earth and seek her revenge. She knew her enemies would be going nowhere. She knew that in her bones. So she had to be patient. Time, that was she had. And she would use that. If nothing else happened.
'You don't need to apologise' Karma Wangmo had said to Kunkhen's mother. 'I will do my best to keep your son safe.' She had comforted her. She hadn't ask about anything else.
Ending her memory, Karma Wangmo followed Kunkhen and watched the Phurba, still in his hands, jiggle with his jumps. Karma Wangmo had contained her surprise when Phurba came out as Kunkhen's spirit weapon. 'Will fate repeat itself?' She thought.
"Kunkhen" said Karma Wangmo.
"Yes?"
"You should put your Phurba inside! It is not a normal thing to have in your hands on a hike." Karma Wangmo said.
She saw Kunkhen's face turn into a strange shape. It was amusing. "Alright" Kunkhen said and he tried putting his Phurba in a pocket of his trouser but the Phurba was too big to fit properly. So he looked at Karma Wangmo, in the usual surprised face, that Karma Wangmo had learn to see in Kunkhen. Karma Wangmo had an amusing chuckle inside her.
"Kunkhen. Since the Phurba is your Spirit weapon, it can be housed in your spirit, in your body. It doesn't need an external covering, your spirit is the sheath of your weapon. Therefore, you can keep it inside of you."
Karma Wangmo expected Kunkhen's surprised face and lo and behold, it did appear. "And you are wondering how would you be able to do that?" Kunkhen gave a gentle nod. "It's strangely intuitive, as I said. Your spirit weapon is a part of you. Think of it as the physical form of your spirit. Now think of slowly covering it with a sheath. Place it inside of you. Close your eyes, imagine the phurba going inside of you, imagine a cavity inside your spirit, inside you, and put your Phurba there. It really sounds more complex than it is."
Kunkhen was nodding. He closed his eyes and tried doing so , and as Karma Wangmo expected, the Phurba in his hand magically disappeared. No one was more surprised than Kunkhen who had an amazing expression. He said "It..It really went inside!"
He looked towards Karma Wangmo and stared in a daze. " Oh… then, how can I bring it out?" "As I said, it's much easier to do than explain. Spirit Weapons naturally live in your spirit so they can be stored inside easily. If you want to bring it out, you just do the opposite. Imagine you are drawing the Phurba out from your spirit, pulling out of its sheath and placing it in your hands!"
As Karma Wangmo explained, Kunkhen did so and the Phurba appeared again in his hand. Kunkhen was surprised, with wide eyes, before he put the Phurba back into his spirit and kept walking.
In a short few minutes, Kunkhen arrived at his home; The sun was dipping down the horizon and darkness followed in its wake. Kunkhen opened the door with the house key he had. "Strange" He said. "My parents should be here by now."
Karma Wangmo didn't say anything. She had already sensed that. She followed Kunkhen as he entered his home. 'Something is not right!' Karma Wangmo thought.
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(Kunkhen's POV)
Kunkhen took off his shoes and entered his dark home. It was dark, much darker than Kunkhen anticipated it to be. Maybe it was because he had been expecting a warm welcome from his parents but now, that hope had been dashed. Kunkhen felt a little sad as he turned the lights on. The house lit up to show its emptiness. Of course, Kunkhen knew that he was not alone. He was with Karma Wangmo now but his house still felt empty.
Kunkhen clearly remembered his parents telling him that they would be returning after making a quick visit to the monastery. That was in the morning and it was the evening now. Many hours had passed by, and many more so for Kunkhen, in the dark World. Still, his parents hadn't found their way back home. Kunkhen felt a small worry lit up in his heart but he shirked it off.
Kunkhen could wait, he told himself. Maybe he could surprise his parents when they come back. That would be a fun sight to see. He thought. Kunkhen walked through his home to have a seat.
In the light, he looked around his home. The copper water bowls offered to the gods were still up on the wooden altar. The sun had set by now and Kunkhen knew that he couldn't take the bowls down. 'Kunkhen, why haven't you taken the bowls down?' Kunkhen could practically hear his dad's fake-angry question. Another thing to look forward to.
In the altar, Kunkhen stared at the many statues of deities, gently draped in silk clothes, sitting in different meditative positions. Many things had happened to him today; Supernatural things, Magical things, Unbelievable things. This made him wonder whether these deities held any deeper meaning than just being religious icons.
The room still smelt of the burnt Juniper from this morning. Kunkhen knew that that his house always smelt like that. It always smelt holy. Kunkhen inhaled a deep breath. He liked this smell but now, this made him remember the black liquid and earth in the Dark Prison.
He found it be a strange coincidence that the Great Soul Tree was a Juniper tree. Or maybe it was not a coincidence. Kunkhen took out his Phurba and looked at it again. The black material that made it was from that Sacred tree. He reminded himself. A part of him would have liked it if the colour of the Phurba was not black as it made him remember the dark world but another part of him liked it. It represented the hope that he salvaged from that abyss. It represented his victory!
"Kunkhen!" He heard.
He recognised that sound. It was Karma Wangmo. The turquoise flew infant of him, as she shouted. Kunkhen had been so lost in thought that he had forgotten to say anything. "Ahh. I am sorry. Karma Wangmo. I was thinking a few things. My parents should be home soon. …Oh, I will put the Phurba back in!" Kunkhen said.
"No, it's not that. Something is not right. I can feel traces of rlung here. Foreign rlung!" "What!?" Kunkhen exclaimed. He didn't understand what it entirely meant but he didn't like the sound of it. That tiny spark of worry in him, that he had ignored, flickered.
"I can feel foreign rlung here, rlung that doesn't belong to your parents. Someone has been here!" Kunkhen was stunned, that tiny flame of worry in his heart had turned into a terrifying blaze. His mouth opened into a deep silence as realisation dawned upon his eyes.
"Wha… How..What did they do?" Kunkhen said.
"They have left something!" Karma Wangmo responded, as she released a burst of light from her rlung energy. Red dust of rlung rose from every corner of the house and slowly began to form letters in the air.
If not for how shocked Kunkhen was, he might have found this sight cool. But as he read those blood-red characters, Kunkhen's face turned into stone. A chilling expression formed on his face. His hands tightened onto a grip and he screamed!
He screamed as loud as he could, finding everything from the depths of his belly and his core. The walls of his home reverberated as his scream shook the objects in his house. Some even fell over. He must have infused rlung into his scream as well.
Kunkhen stopped, his eyes burning red with beads of tear trickling down. Kunkhen held in all his rage, and all his worries. He bottled it up as strong as he could and stored it away in a deep corner of his Spirit.
He turned to Karma Wangmo. He looked at her with a piercing gaze, like two red balls staring. "How can I go to High-Earth?" Karma Wangmo remained silent. Kunkhen maintained his gaze, unwavering as he waited for Karma Wangmo.
In the pause of that moment, time awkwardly moved on.
In the air, these blood-red letters were written:
"Little Boy! We have captured your parents. We will be waiting for you in High-Earth!"